Weymouth and Portland town councils have declared a 'climate emergency' – and will be doing their bit to reduce carbon emissions.

Recognising the pressures facing the globe and that they must play their part in reducing their impact on the environment, the councils agreed a motion at meetings this week.

They join a growing list of local authorities which will be calling on the government to take urgent action.

It followed lobbying at both meetings by local members of climate change pressure group Extinction Rebellion.

Cllr Jon Orrell brought the motion forward at Weymouth Town Council, and quoted former US President Barack Obama.

He said: "We are the first generation to see the effects of climate change and the last generation to do anything about it, so a heavy responsibility falls on us.

“What we vote on isn’t my future, we are voting for our children’s future, so I’m keen that we all bear that in mind.

“The question used to be – Grandad what did you do in the war? Now the question falls on us – what did you do about climate change?

Rob Cheeseman from Extinction Rebellion told councillors: “The science is clear. It's understood we face an unprecedented global emergency – we are in a life or death emergency of our own making – we must act now.

“Humanity and life on earth now face a direct and existential threat."

Student Jacob Cox, 17, added: “We need a proactive approach to prevent further environmental harm. If you saw a pipe leaking flammable liquid, you wouldn’t watch to see if it caught fire, but currently government at all levels is doing precisely this. The pipe is leaking, we have no time to wait and watch the disaster unfold.”

The council agreed to a number of recommendations at the meeting, including striving to make its activities net-zero carbon by 2030 or earlier if possible, and calling on the UK government to provide the powers, resources and help with funding to make these steps possible, along with local MPs.

Portland members of Extinction Rebellion attended a 'passionate' meeting of the island's town council, where all councillors voted in favour of the emergency motion.

The council has committed to setting up a working group to tackle the issue, helping islanders reduce their carbon footprint, as well as reducing the council's own emissions.

They also agreed to install electric car charging points around the island.

Extinction Rebellion campaigners lobbied councillors ahead of the vote, including one young activist, six year-old Atlantic Academy pupil Finn Caldecoat.

The motion was proposed by Cllr Giovanna Lewis, who said the next step was for the council to reduce its own emissions, as well as those of the community.

"We will also put pressure on central government to deal with the bigger issues such as moving away from fossil fuels, use of pesticides, transport policies and legislation on packaging", she added.

"Portland has a great opportunity to take control of its destiny, helping equip people to help themselves, contributing both locally and globally - what happens next is up to all of us."

Mandy Robertson of Extinction Rebellion Portland said: "The motion commits the council to setting up a working group to outline how it might respond to the emergency."

Tony Walter, also of Extinction Rebellion, said: "We feel very positive about this crucial step toward Portland choosing to play its part in nurturing our planet.

"With a newly formed council and dynamic, we have an exciting opportunity to address things in a regenerative, collective and interconnected way".